In a recent State of the Union Address, the President of the United States announced the formation of the “National Export Initiative,” an important endeavor that is necessary for long-term, sustainable economic growth for the country. The president’s goal is to double exports within 5 years, which, it is hoped, should reduce unemployment by adding 2 million jobs.
This is the first time in history that the United States has put a real focus on government-wide export promotion.
Since then, the president has signed an Executive Order that formed the “Export Promotion Cabinet” within the presidential administration. The Department of Commerce is an important player in this initiative and is charged with making sure that U.S. businesses can actively participate in international markets by increasing their exports of goods, services, and agricultural products.
Individual Portion (1):
If you were a member of the Cabinet, what would you do to achieve these goals?
Address the following in 1,000–1,250 words:
Group Portion:
Discuss among yourselves how you would convince businesses to increase exports, and then put an ad campaign together directed at businesses to advise them of the benefits and assistance that is out there to be successful in the international market. The ad campaign should include the benefits at a micro level and macro level, pitfalls to be weary of, and the risks. However, remember that you are trying to promote international exports at manageable costs.
Make sure you include as much as you can about what you learned during this course.
You can put the ad campaign together as a PowerPoint presentation. The more creative, the better! The presentation must be 8–10 slides plus title/reference slides
Individual Portion (2)
Part I
Deliverable Length: 500–750 words plus completed table
As a business owner making a final decision regarding the international aspects of a business decision, you may decide to set up a table with the possible risks and weigh their relative importance against the rate of return you foresee. You also need to put a plan in place to overcome the risks.
Assume your business is visible and an important member of the community. Would the government encourage a decision to expand? How would it affect the reputation of the business?
Here is what the list looks like. Your assignment is to fill in the table.
Risk |
Importer |
Exporter |
L/M/S |
How to Overcome It |
Economic conditions |
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Fluctuations in industry |
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Competition |
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Technological change |
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Change in preferences |
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Costs and expenses |
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Regulations |
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Expropriation |
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Interest rates |
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Government monetary policy |
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Government fiscal policy |
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Internal and external wars |
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Difference in culture and religion |
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Ownership of factories and property |
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Human resource restrictions |
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Intellectual property |
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Discrimination |
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Red tape and corruption |
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Blockage of funds or capital accounts |
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Change in government |
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Comment on whether the U.S. government would support a business owner’s decision to expand internationally or import in light of the balance of payments and how the move internationally may affect the business’s reputation as a local small-business owner.
Part II
Deliverable Length: 500–750words
Part of a business strategy you are considering involves the reduction of labor and material costs. Your CFO suggested doing some of the manufacturing overseas. The concern in moving some of your manufacturing offshore may be that you achieve lower costs of production but lose quality control (a trademark of your brand) and perhaps even reduce morale in your company by laying off those workers whose jobs were being performed overseas. These are serious issues. You asked your CFO to outline the benefits and disadvantages of doing so in regards to your relationship with your employees, balance sheet, quality, and service.
Explain 3 additional benefits and 3 additional disadvantages that would concern you and the economy and answer the following questions:
Part III
Deliverable Length: 500–750words
In your quest to understand how your employees would be affected by any of the decisions you are going to make, you also realize that your labor costs may not be the real source of your balance sheet problems. After all, you are manufacturing in a region that attracts many immigrants, which, because of an increase in the labor pool, actually keeps your labor costs relatively low. This sparked the question about why Americans continue to be concerned about immigration policy and what the debate is about. You want to know more.
Explain the following:
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